ShoeGuy: Two-fers

When two (or three) pair of shoes is better than one

What you probably don’t want to do right now is go out and buy a second pair of running shoes while the pair you wore this morning still has a good two or three hundred miles of life in them. Then again, maybe you should. While most runners can get by nicely with one pair of working running shoes at a time, you may do better with two. Maybe three.

Go ahead, roll your eyes. The thought of spending more money on running shoes, beyond what your Visa limit and borderline patient spouse will tolerate, is not a good idea. Your closet already looks (and smells) like a running shoe landfill.

But what if buying a second pair of shoes actually saved you money? Works for Visa. What if that second pair kept you from being a whining injured runner? Your near-the-edge spouse is all over it. As for the closet, you should see mine.

While not all runners need to rotate running shoes, some really should. If one of the following runners is you, start shopping.

There’s "Daily Dan," the streak freak. The sun never sets on a day when Dan fails to do at least three miles, his official minimum to keep the streak alive. Those wussy three-milers are rare, however, usually saved for the day after a marathon, the day when stomach flu is at its peak, or of course, Mrs. Dan’s birthday. Most other days Dan easily hits double digits to get his fix.

Long runs with less than 24 hours of recovery are hard on runners and hard on shoes. While Dan is fortunate to have a body that can pull it off, shoes are just shoes. They need to dry thoroughly between workouts, otherwise the billions of bacteria thriving in the perpetual humidity of the shoe’s interior will help the shoe fall apart faster and maybe even threaten Dan’s streak with a gnarly case of athlete’s foot.

Alternating between two pairs gives the shoes plenty of time to dry between workouts, which is good for the shoes and even better for keeping Dan’s feet fungus-free. The shoes last longer and Dan stays healthier.

Then there’s "Marathon Martha." No streak to worry about with her, as she probably cross trains or takes a day off at least once a week, and will rest for several days after the race. It’s that steady buildup of mileage leading to race day that suggests a two-pair training regimen.

Building mileage means building punishment, which is why most injuries from marathon preparation occur in the last half of the training schedule. Running in two different pairs of shoes spreads the stress on the body over a wider spectrum of support. Less chance of injury makes Martha and her loved ones happy, and saves money by reducing the likelihood of having to bag the race after paying the non-refundable entry fee.